Frederick Bernard Rooney Jr. (November 6, 1925 – December 23, 2019) was an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who served as a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district has been located in western Pennsylvania since February 2018. The district includes all of Warren County, McKean County, Forest County, Venango County, Elk County, Cameron County, Clarion County, ...

from 1963 to 1979.

Early life and education

Rooney was born in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

to Fred B. (1881–1945) and Veronica K. (McGreevy) Rooney (1887–1969). He graduated from Bethlehem High School in 1944 and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from February 1944 to April 1946, with service in Europe as a

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

. He graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

at Athens in 1950 with a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

(BBA) degree. He worked in the real estate and insurance business.

Career

Political career

Rooney served as a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the 18th district from November 5, 1958, until his resignation on August 6, 1963. He was elected as a Democrat to the 88th Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative

Francis E. Walter Francis Eugene Walter (May 26, 1894 – May 31, 1963) was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Walter was a prominent member of the House Un-American Activities Committee ...

, and reelected to the seven succeeding Congresses. Rooney served on the House Transportation Committee, where his specialties included railroad issues. He was one of the architects of the 1976 legislation that established

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

, which took over the operation of potentially profitable railroad companies that had fallen into bankruptcy, including the Penn Central. He was an defeated in his bid for reelection by

Donald L. Ritter Donald Lawrence Ritter (born October 21, 1940) is a former Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. From 1979 to 1993, Ritter represented Pe ...

in 1979.

Post-political career

After leaving Congress, he joined Cassidy & Associates in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, one of the nation's largest government relations and lobbying firms. He later he went into business for himself, representing

, the

Association of American Railroads The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...

, and the

American Iron and Steel Institute The American Iron and Steel Institute is an association of North American steel producers. With its predecessor organizations, is one of the oldest trade associations in the United States, dating back to 1855. It assumed its present form in 190 ...

. In 2009, a portion of

Pennsylvania Route 378 Pennsylvania Route 378 (PA 378) is a north-to-south road in Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 309 in Center Valley. Its northern termi ...

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

from US 22 to the

Hill to Hill Bridge The Hill to Hill Bridge is a road crossing of the Lehigh River and linking the south and north sides of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. Completed in 1924, Hill to Hill Bridge carries Pennsylvania Route 37 ...

was renamed the Fred B. Rooney Highway, recognizing his role in the creation of that portion of the highway.

Personal life

Rooney's nephew T. J. Rooney also served in the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

Death

Rooney died at his home in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

on December 23, 2019. He was 94.

References

5. "Fred B Rooney" Obituary, Washington Post, print edition 29 DEC 2019. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Fred B. 1925 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American politicians United States Army personnel of World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania University of Georgia alumni United States Army soldiers Members of Congress who became lobbyists